The Bellevue Downtown Association will celebrate its 45th anniversary on Feb. 7 and invites business and community leaders from throughout the region to join at the Meydenbauer Center.

Celebrating the decades of growth within the city, the BDA will host two keynote speakers, give out two awards and provide dinner starting at $120 for admission for BDA members. The social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and keynote starting at 6:30 p.m.

Non-member admission costs $140, a member table of 10 $1,150 and a non-member table $1,350. Locals can register on the BDA’s website.

Margaret Meister, CEO of Symetra Financial Corporation, will be the first keynote speaker at the celebration. She leads a national life insurer headquartered in Bellevue with $43 billion in assets, 2 million customers and more than 1,000 employees. She joined the company as an actuarial student in 1988, rising through the organization to become chief actuary in 2004, chief financial officer in 2006, and president and CEO in 2018.

In 2015, Meister received the Puget Sound Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Leadership Award and more recently, the publication recognized her as one of the 2018 Women of Influence. Currently, Meister serves on the board of directors of the United Way of King County.

The second keynote speaker is Davide Downey, CEO of International Downtown Association, a 30-year city advocate and nonprofit leader in the community building industry. The IDA provides tools, intelligence and strategies for creating centers that anchor the well-being of towns, cities and regions of the world.

After the keynote presentations, the BDA will recognize an organization and individual with awards for place making and city building. The Place Making Award honors an organization that enhanced Bellevue and its community while the John Boespflug City Builder Award honors an individual’s career and legacy of service to downtown Bellevue.